Mrs Guru tastes...Isle of Wight Blue Cheese

As reported previously on these pages, we are currently enjoying a local food binge in an attempt to highlight some of the more authentic souvenirs which are on offer to Isle of Wight visitors.

It came about after discovering that most Isle of Wight souvenir fudge doesn’t actually come from the Isle of Wight, in the same way that your French Windows weren’t made in Paris.

We went for a quick trip to a farm shop, which soon turned into a spending spree.

It’s not an especially healthy activity or one which is suitable for pregnant women, teetotalers or vegans, since last time we were drinking gin and this time we are slicing off great chunks of blue cheese.

You’ll find cheese is one local product with a decent range of options on the Isle of Wight.

There are at least two companies producing cheese on the Island, and probably more which I’ve missed (apologies in advance, I await a telling off).

Firstly, there is the Isle of Wight Cheese Company, which presumably held a very short brainstorm meeting before deciding on a name and launching in 2006. At the time of eating, their range includes:

• Blue Slipper (a soft cheese named after the clay you'll find on the Isle of Wight rather than something you'd buy Grandad from M&S)
  
• Borthwood Brie
  
• Isle of Wight Soft (halfway between Brie and Camembert according to the blurb)
  
• Isle of Wight Blue (soft blue cheese)
  
• Gallybagger (a bit like cheddar, but unpasteurised. The word is mostly used to describe a scarecrow on the Isle of Wight)

The second is Briddlesford Lodge Farm, which is based nearish to Newport and which has a cafe and farm shop you can visit (they also do tours on certain days during the school holidays). They currently offer Caerphilly, Cheddar, Gouda, Halloumi-Style and Feta-Style.

On this occasion we tried Isle of Wight Blue, which the Isle of Wight Cheese Company say will taste 'spikier' towards its best before date. We tried it about 20 minutes after purchase, so I would say we didn't exactly let it mature a great deal. Nonetheless, it was very tasty and went down nicely with big chunks of bread and my mother-in-law's soup which was as thick as a tin of gloss paint.
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To try it for yourself, visit one of the local stockists on the Island. You won't regret it!

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